Part 16
This part is written by Roswellian Princess 2001
Later that afternoon Cole, unable to sleep, was standing at the window in Phoebe's room, overlooking the city. From her side of the house you could see through the buildings all the way to the bay. It was one of his favorite spots. Looking out over everything made it possible for him to forget the bad things he did before he met Phoebe and Maria. Of course the love he felt for both was different. Phoebe was his soul, his heart. But Maria held a very large part of his heart as well. From the first meeting the felt connected to her.
"Cole? Are you OK?" asked Phoebe sleepily.
Cole turned to see Phoebe sitting up in bed. He gave her a small smile and walked to her, sitting next to her on the bed.
"Yeah. I'm OK. But I am not sure about Maria. Don't you feel it? Something isn't right about today," he began. He stared at their joined hands in his lap. "I can't lose her Phoebe. If anything happens to her I will never forgive myself. It would be worse than when my sister, Cassie, died."
Phoebe just watched him as he went through his tirade. She was about to offer comforting words when Cole continued. "Back when Cassie died, I was too into being evil to care. It didn't really affect me until later. We were never close. I always distanced myself from her. But with Maria, I feel like I have a second chance. I want to protect her the way I was never able to protect Cassie."
"I know you feel the need to protect," Phoebe began. "But you've also got to realize that Cassie wasn't your fault. Things happen. Even if you had been there, there's no way of telling if you could have saved her. The fact is, if you had been there, The Source probably would have killed you too. Then you wouldn't be here to protect us."
Cole looked her in the eye. She could see the unshed tears. She raised her hands to his cheeks. "Nothing is going to go wrong. This bad feeling you have is just nerves. We all feel it. But I have every confidence that Maria will do just fine."
Cole sighed. "If anything happens to her…"
"Nothing is going to happen. We won't let it. Besides, I don't think Michael is of a mind to let Maria get hurt," Phoebe said trying to lighten the mood.
Cole smiled. "He is kind of like a guard dog when it comes to her."
"Feel better?"
Cole nodded slightly. "I will feel even better when we all come back after this is over."
MEANWHILE IN MARIA'S ROOM
"Michael, I'm kinda scared."
The two were laying on Maria's bed wrapped in each other's arms. Neither had been able to sleep, both laying awake for the past couple of hours. Michael tightened his hold before responding. "I swear by everything I am, nothing is going to happen to you. I almost lost you once. I'm not looking to repeat the same mistake."
Maria smiled at his assurance. Leave it to Michael to sound so forceful when he was unsure. "You know that is one of the things I love about you. Even though you are worried, and I know you are, you still have a way of making me feel safe." She snuggled deeper into his embrace, listening to his heart beat.
Before Michael could respond the alarm next to the bed sounded, signaling that it was time to prepare for tonight. Maria reached over and silenced it, still not wanting to move. Michael rolled her over so she faced him. "If you feel like anything is going to go wrong I want you out of there," he began. "I want you to promise me that you will get out."
Maria leaned up and kissed him softly. "I promise. But I know you are gonna be there to protect me, so nothing is gonna go wrong."
Michael nodded. With one last tender kiss they both rose, silently preparing for the battle ahead.
TBC